Project Accountant

Summary

Reporting to the Financial Performance Manager, you will be responsible for acting as a supporting project accountant to senior programme and delivery manager teams.

In this 1 year fixed term contract role, you will be accountable for helping to manage and track the costs of major projects and/or enhancement schemes.

You will collaborate with and support senior managers and the project teams to deliver operational and financial efficiencies through monitoring expenditure, conducting variance analysis, and providing solutions to optimise financial management. This ensures you can help the programmes of work manage their costs effectively whilst improving efficiency in a complex and evolving industry.

• Support financial planning, budgeting and forecasting processes to align with corporate targets, internal controls and compliance with all regulatory standards.
• Provide financial analysis with insightful commentary to influence key business decisions, enhance operational efficiency and optimise financial performance across the business.
• Track and analyse financial key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, supporting insights that drive accountability and continuous improvement.
• Support value creation by providing financial and commercial support during contract negotiations and the execution of commercial deliverables.
• Help develop full project financial lifecycle plans and providing synergy solutions between initiatives.
• Help support the costing and valuing of SoWs and raising subsequent Purchase Orders in collaboration with project managers, procurement, and external suppliers to effectively manage costs.
• Support key business transformation initiatives, including digital and automation projects, to enhance reporting capabilities and operational financial efficiency.
• Act as a trusted financial advisor to senior management and cross-functional teams, translating complex financial data into manageable financial actions.
• Ensure the integrity of financial data and systems by maintaining a robust internal controls framework, and ensure strict compliance with all regulatory and accounting standards.
• Help maintain meticulous records, managing the invoice query process and ensuring accurate cost coding.
• Proactively collaborate with internal and external auditors to manage and mitigate financial risks, ensuring transparency and accuracy in all financial reporting.
• Advise and educate the finance team and wider business, fostering a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and professional growth.
• Supporting the finance team in adapting processes with new tools & technology to optimise and drive productive ways of working.
• Elevate the organisation's financial acumen by helping to design and deliver targeted training programs.

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance, Part-Qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) or Qualified by Experience.
• Good understanding and knowledge of IAS 16 & IAS 38 pertaining to the recognition, measurement and disclosure of assets in financial statements.
• The ability to review financial data, conduct in-depth variance analysis and leverage expertise in tools like Workday Finance with advanced Excel (and Google Sheets) to translate and present large datasets into clear actionable business insights for senior project & programme managers.
• Good verbal and written communication skills to present financial information with authority and confidence, enabling you to clearly and simply convey key variance commentary that is transparent for senior leaders.
• The ability to ensure budget compliance via strong reporting and analytical skills. Tracking actual costs against forecasts whilst providing potential solutions for savings and identifying any potential overspends.
• The ability to monitor and control costs and to anticipate future challenges and opportunities and develop a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset to solve complex problems and navigate ambiguity whilst ensuring that your client group is kept informed, involved and supported in their projects.
• An ability to build strong relationships, influence key stakeholders and…